Reviews of the latest films and music

film review

I’m a big believer in not knocking something until I’ve tried it… So while I was hesitant to watch the latest Batman revamp with Superman, I wanted to give it a chance. So I bought a ticket, sat down with my friends, voiced a few worries I had about the film and waited for it to start.

And once I saw that ‘Executive Producers: Christopher Nolan, Emma Thomas’ in the opening credits, well, I started to relax a little (Nolan’s trilogy is my all-time favourite).

The movie opens like any other introduction to Batman – with the death of his parents. While it may seem a little unnecessary to some (it is a story that’s been told many times before), it’s important to the film as it introduces this new edition of Batman (as Ben Affleck).

The opening then continues as a follow on from the events in the Man of Steel Superman movie (those of you that have seen that movie will have obviously been introduced to Superman before, hence why Batman’s story is told first – don’t worry though, I’ve not seen Man of Steel so I don’t feel like it’s vital that you watch it before seeing Batman vs Superman).

Now it’s hard not to make comparisons between the Snyder movie and the Nolan trilogy, and it’s something that you really need to avoid when you see the Batman vs Superman film. If you watch the movie with a clean slate, and appreciate the new world of Batman that Snyder is giving us, then it makes for a much better viewing.

Ok so let’s get to it: Affleck as Batman. It was one of my biggest concerns, but just because I’m not a big fan of change. Christian Bale has been embedded in our minds as Batman for a long time now, but like I said – now’s not the time to make comparisons. Affleck did a great job as playing the suave, determined hero of Gotham.

So what’s the film about, and how do the two heroes find themselves at war with each other?

Batman isn’t too happy about Superman’s recent activities on the planet, especially when one of his fights leaves the Wayne Tower in ruins and puts hundreds of lives at risk.

Believing that Superman is a threat to the city and to the planet, Batman seeks out to destroy Superman. Superman in the mean time is dealing with the public’s changing views of him, as he is soon blamed for the destruction in the city and named a ‘false god’.

Throw into the mix an evil Lex Luther (played brilliantly by Jesse Eisenberg), who picks up on the tension between the two superheroes and cleverly pits them against each other, the two are soon face-to-face and fighting it out.

Wonderwoman is also introduced in this movie, although her appearances are brief. Yes, this is Batman vs Superman, but still it would have been nice to see more of her character and get a better understanding of her. I couldn’t help but notice that when Lois Lane (Amy Adams) was running around and helping Superman out that she looked terrible, but fighting a giant alien-monster Wonderwoman (Gal Gadot) still had a full face of make-up and immaculate hair… So was she just there for viewing pleasure? It certainly seemed that way, but I digress…

The movie also offered a little build-up to the introduction of other characters that are soon to join the heroes in a DC Avengers style movie with Flash and Aquaman, so be sure to look out for that!

Overall I think the movie was really good. At times Batman’s robotic-looking armour was a little odd-looking, and it was a little confusing to understand just where the alien-monster came from (maybe I should have watched Man of Steel?), but apart from that I really enjoyed the contrast between these two iconic superhero characters.

The story didn’t feel as though it was forced or jammed together for the purpose of drawing crowds to the cinema. The idea of Batman and Superman seemed very plausible, but then again they are from the same DC world so that might not be so difficult to do…

Still not seen it? You can watch the trailer below! Already seen the movie? Let me know what you thought of it in the comments below…

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I don’t think I’ve ever been this excited to see a movie since Toy Story 2 came out when I was 7 years old.

The latest superhero movie to be released this year is Deadpool, starring Ryan Reynolds as the knife-wielding, kickass superhero dressed in his red bodysuit. And it’s in cinemas on FEBRUARY 10TH – that’s tomorrow!

Not only do fans of the comic seem excited due to the accuracy of the costume and Ryan’s promise of staying true to the comic’s character and story (unlike the Wolverine Origins film), but Deadpool also has a lot of other people eager to see the movie.

How?

Well that’s because of the film’s clever, and most likely very costly, advertising and marketing.

This Spotlight post is for one of the most successful directors and one of my personal favourites: Christopher Nolan.

What films has he directed?

To name just a few: The Batman trilogy with Christian Bale starring as Batman, Inception, Shutter Island, Memento and Interstellar.

Working with big names and leading actors such as Leonardo DiCaprio, Christian Bale, Tom Hardy, and Joseph Gordon Levitt, Nolan’s films are not like most successful Blockbuster movies.

They don’t tap into your typical action films that use conventions like explosions and gunfights just to increase their ticket sales. Nolan’s films are thought-provoking, exciting and innovative. They’re filled with action but their explosions and fighting scenes are minor props when compared to Nolan’s storytelling skills and his vision.

Celebrated at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, and with a cast that immediately made me sit up and pay attention (with names A$AP Rocky, Zoe Kravitz, Chanel Iman and even a quick appearance from Tyga), I was ready and eager to watch a movie which had a story that I felt was easily relatable to 90s kids with a love of hip hop. Basically this film spoke to people like me.

Starring Shameik Moore as school geek Malcolm, the film centres on him and his two high school friends Diggy and Jib. Their obsession and love of 90s hip hop culture influences their music choices, their fashion and their slang.

Feel like watching a tense sit-on-the-edge-of-your-seat yet humorous film about an egotistical yet inspiring high-wire artist that risks his life (quite literally) to make his dream come true? And that crazy dream happens to be walking a wire between the Twin Towers in 1974?

You might have sobbed your heart out after seeing The Fault In Our Stars and its tragic love story, but the latest John Green film adaptation Paper Towns will have you celebrating a life spent with true friends and ultimately discovering a life filled with moments that truly make you feel like you’re alive.

Directed by Jake Schreier and starring Nat Wolff (of TFIOS) and Cara Delvingne (Paper Towns being one of a string of films she’s set to appear in the next 12 months), the film focuses on lovestruck Quentin (Wolff), his high school friends and the girl across the street/object of his affections/popular girl in school, Margo Roth Spiegelman (Delvingne).

Following my friends into the cinema, we were about to get tickets for Birdman. I knew three things about this film: it starred Michael Keaton and Emma Stone (to name a couple), was labelled as a black comedy, and included a plot that was ‘about some man that dresses up as a bird’ (quote taken courtesy of my younger sister when I told her which film I’d be watching).

I always like to walk into a film not really knowing anything about plot, setting, trailers, or terrible/rave reviews. So I sat down in my cinema seat, opened my bag of popcorn and let director Alejandro González Iñárritu lead me wherever he wished to take me.

I applaud you, David Fincher. Yet again, Fincher has made a disturbing, thought-provoking and nail-biting movie. Packed with tension, lies and accusations, Gone Girl is truly remarkable.

Starring Ben Affleck as husband Nick Dunne and Rosamund Pike as doting wife Amy, the film is described as portraying ‘modern marriage’. If modern marriage is how it is in Gone Girl then I don’t want to get married any time soon! We’re shown Nick and Amy in their early relationship days; we see them first meet, their charming ways and their love for one another blossom. Their relationship seems like a fairytale, with the treasure hunts that Amy leaves for Nick acting as a sign of the endless fun that the two have together.

Nick is the voice of the present in the majority of the narrative, and we learn more about Amy’s character in scenes referred to in her diary. From her we see how they met, how they fell in love immediately and make it to their fifth wedding anniversary. But then we start to see the cracks show. Before Nick discovers his wife’s disappearance he’s sat in his bar (cleverly named “The Bar”) complaining to his sister of their anniversary tradition of treasure hunts, seemingly bored of his married life. Then Amy’s diary entries before her disappearance, which we see her writing and are shown each entry’s events, steadily become more worrying.

Last night I decided to make a hot chocolate, curl up and finally watch The Perks of Being A Wallflower. Apart from knowing it was an adaptation of a novel and starred Emma Watson, I wasn’t too sure what to expect.

What I got was a sweet, touching film that also weaves around and delves into deep, serious issues.

Ever since we were given the tiny snippet of the latest Hunger Games film through the Capitol’s TV broadcast way back in June 2014, I’ve been preventing these words from spilling out into a blog post. But I can’t wait any longer and we’ve gained so much more info since then that I can’t help but type these words:THE MOCKINGJAY IS NEARLY HERE AND IT LOOKS EPIC!